Last gameweek’s differential picks were extremely successful. Jose Holebas picked up a clean sheet, while Danny Ings, Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli all scored and impressed. Here are some picks to look at ahead of the Boxing Day fixtures:
ANDROS TOWNSEND – £5.8m – TSB: 2.4% – Cardiff (H)
Crystal Palace pulled off the shock of the season so far in Gameweek 18, beating Manchester City 3-2 at the Etihad. The star of the show was Andros Townsend, who scored as good a goal as any seen this campaign in the victory. Townsend is a streaky player, but if caught at the right time he has plenty of potential to pick up points as a budget option. The Palace man has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last five games and lines up against Cardiff at Selhurst Park on Boxing Day.
JESSE LINGARD – £6.8m – TSB: 5.5m – Huddersfield (H)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign as Manchester United boss started brilliantly, with an emphatic 5-1 victory at Cardiff. United played with a lot more freedom than has been seen in recent times under Jose Mourinho, and it benefited many of their mid-price options. One such option is Jesse Lingard, who scored twice and picked up an assist in the game. Lingard has been showing signs of form in a recent run in the team, scoring another 2 goals in his previous three starts and will surely have cemented his position in the starting eleven ahead of a comfortable-looking fixture at home to Huddersfield.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE – £9.7m – TSB: 4.1% – Leicester (A)
Known to be one of the best players in the league, Kevin De Bruyne has made a big impact upon his return from injury. Following up a goal in a midweek Cup victory over Leicester, the Belgian scored a somewhat fortunate goal against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 18. With David Silva injured, the onus will be on De Bruyne to work his magic against Leicester again this time out, and it’s hard not to back a man with 39 assists in the last two league campaigns.
SON HEUNG-MIN – £8.5m – TSB: 9.3% – Bournemouth (H)
Dele Alli was given the nod over Son in the last differential picks partly due to ownership. Both midfielders impressed, but Son showed at Goodison Park his supreme ability with a 21 point haul in a 6-2 victory for Spurs and is on fire ahead of two tempting home fixtures against Bournemouth and Wolves. Beware that Son does leave for the Asian Cup in January, so if brought in will only be a short-term fixture in fantasy squads. Son looks a buy now or leave altogether option this week, especially with some rotation risk.
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN – £9.3m – TSB: 5.6% – Bournemouth (H)
Another Spurs midfielder who impressed over the weekend was Christian Eriksen. The Dane scored a brilliant volley against Everton and outlined his importance to the team in a fantastic showing. Eriksen takes a share of set-pieces and boasts 6 attacking returns in his last six appearances. If a fantasy manager is concerned over Son’s minutes, Eriksen might be the differential to pull them through the busy Christmas schedule.
Good luck all!
Written by FPL Forum (@FPLForum)
